Calling for clarity

As a US federal carbon trading scheme begins to look increasingly likely, the current lack of a definitive regulatory framework is frustrating the forward planning of utilities and power suppliers, finds David Watkins

Calls for carbon trading in the US are growing ever louder, and not just from legislators and green groups. Firms such as Calpine, Entergy, Exelon, FPL, Pacific Gas & Electric and Public Service Enterprise Group recently made public their support for a cap-and-trade plan proposed by Democrat senators Dianne Feinstein (California), and Thomas Carper (Delaware) which would force the US power sector to submit to nationwide emissions caps that would tighten over time.

"As the single largest source of